In the field of personal electronic devices, certain recreational devices and services capture and present a user's geographic position using a GNSS receiver. As one example, a sports watch or other wearable device may contain, for instance, a Global Positioning System (GPS) chip or module to allow that device to receive signals from GPS satellites, go through the necessary computation of ephemeris and other data, and produce a GPS position “fix,” or precise location reading, often including geocoordinates (latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude) and direction of travel.
When a sports watch or other personal device with a GNSS receiver has first been turned on, or has recently started receiving usable GPS signals (e.g., after being obscured by trees or buildings), the GPS receiver needs a certain amount of time to re-start and begin taking position fixes. That start-up delay can be on the order of several minutes. During that start-up period, the device will typically consume a significant amount of battery power, because a significant amount of radio frequency reception and position computation activity must take place.
In those scenarios and others, a GPS or other GNSS-equipped personal device could benefit by tapping the already-generated location information of a nearby device, if that nearby device is GNSS-equipped and is located in range of a wireless connection to the personal device.